bonnefond



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. BONNEPOND.

DEVIQE FOR COVERING WATER GLOSBT SEATS. No. 279,218. Patented June 12,1883.

WITNESSES: I NVENTORR By his ulzlor/wys,

N. PETERS. Pv-omumo n im Waihington. o. c.

2 Sheets-Sheet. 2.

(No Model.)

7 M.BON NBFOND.

DEVICE FOR COVERING WATER CLOSET SEATS.

Patented June 12,1883.

INVENTORS WITNESSES:

N. PETERS. vhuwumo her. wwhimm u. c.

vTo all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHEL BONNEFOND, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO STE. PEUVREZ & GIE., OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR COVERING WATER-CLOSET SEATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,218, dated June 12, 1883.

Application filed January 19, 1883. (No model.) Patented in France January 8, 1881, No".1-10,544; in England January 12, 1881.

No.145. and in Belgium January 31, 1881. No.53,6-12.

Be it known that I, MICHEL BONNEFOND, a

Paris, France, have invented certain Improvements in Devices for Covering WVater-Closet Seats, of which the following is a specification.

The necessity for using a public water-closet excites feelings of repugnance and apprehension, arising from the idea of sitting on a place which has probably been just previously occupied by a stranger, and there is reason for such apprehension, because diseases capable of being communicated by simple contact may be thus acquired. c

The object of this invention is to remedy these inconveniences and to prevent the serious consequences thereof; and the invention consists in the mode of perforating and the means for mounting and securing the end of a rollof hygienic paper or other suitable material-as rubber, metallic foil, textile fabric, and the like whereby each section or sheet, when used, may be removed.

It also consists in the means hereinafter described for locking up the roll of paper and for clamping the strip to prevent it from being drawn out surreptitiously.

In the accompanying drawings Ihave shown the arrangement of the devices employed for maintaining the sheet of paper properly stretched on the seat, so that the use of the said sheet is rendered simple and easy. In

these drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a portion of a water-closet provided with the devices for containing and holding the sheets of the said hygienic paper on line 7 7 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3

represents a portion of a continuous lengthof the hygienic material. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the box for'the reception ofa roll of the said material. Fig. 5 is a plan of the said. box whenopen. Fig.6 is atransverse section of the same. Fig. 7 represents a key for opening the aforesaid box to allow a sheet or length of the hygienic material to be withdrawn therefrom. Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view of a de vice for securing the sheet of paper in position on the seat. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a modification hereinafter described.

. A represents the sheet of paper or other hy gienic material, which is cut or perforated to conform to the outline of the seat-hole. The central part, B, ofthe'said sheet adheres to the outer part, A, when in its normalcondition, and is connected to the latter by small pieces or strips (1, a, left between the perforations. \Vhen a person'sits down on the seat covered by this hygienic sheet, the said small connecting pieces or strips a are broken or torn away, and the central part, B, drops, but is supported at the front, for the reason that a part of the material between the points as w is left unperforated. The central part, B, therefore hangs down inside of the pan or basin, and protects the genital organs from coming in contact with the said basin. The edge of the portion of the sheet surrounding the part B is slit or divided to form teeth, as shown at I) b, so that when a person sits upon the hygienic sheet this portion of the same will come in contact with the edges of the opening in the seat and with the basin.

By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the connecting-strips a between the sheet A and the central part, B, are shown as broken,

while in the sheets A and A the said strips are unbroken, and the part B is shown as adhering by its entire circumference to said sheets. In Fig. 9 the part B is shown in dotted lines in the position which it occupies when it has dropped into thebasin at the front part of the seat.

One form of device for attaching my improved hygienic sheets to the top of the closet is constructed as follows-that is to say, a 1011- gitudinal strip of wood or other suitable material is attached to a support hinged to a piece secured to the front part of the case inclosing the pan, and a suitable spring is placed so as to press the strip upon the sheet and against a longitudinal piece screwed at the front part of the casing; or I may attach a plate to the front of the casing by screws, and upon this plate hinge another plate or bar provided with a knob or button. -'1he hinge has a spring, so that the paper is supported underneath the second plate or bar; or the attaching device may consist of an india-rubber piece which enters a recess provided in a plate or 'piece' of wood, leather, or other material; but I prefer to secure the sheets by the devices illustrated in the drawings, and which I will now proceed to describe. 7

On one side of the closet (see Figs. 1 and 2) I provide a box, 0, closed by a lid, D. This box serves for the reception of the hygienic sheets forming an endless band, E, wound upon ashaft or axle, a, guided in the vertical slots (1 d in the ends of said box. The roll of sheets rests on the bottom of the said box by reason of its own weight, and the sheets A are delivered laterally through the slot 8 at the lower part of the box. To diminish the friction the bottom of the box may be scooped out (see Figs. 4 and 6) in sucha manner that the roller is supported at its ends only 5 or the ends of said roller may rest on small supports.

That side of the box through which the sheets A are delivered is interiorly provided with a guillotine or d1.'op-plate, guided in suitable ways or guides, g A spring, h, fixed at its center to the box, constantly tends to raise the said drop-plate, which is made with a rabbeted edge, 5, that corresponds to the edge at' the front of the box, so that when the said box is closed (see 1) the paper is folded or creased, and cannot slip so long as the said box remains closed. which enters a slot, 70, in a spring, Z. For opening the lid D, I provide the key m, Fig. 7. The hook or beard of this key is caused to engage behind the spring to permit the same to be pulled and the disengagement of the catch 9' therefrom. The key remains in the possession of the attendant, who is the only person that is permitted to draw out a sheet of the hygienic material.

On the side of the top board or seat of the closet opposite to the box isiixed a strip or lath, n, of wood or other material, upon which the end of the paper sheet A is placed and held by a small bar or rod, 0, hinged at p. The recess or slot q in the bar exactly incloses the strip or lath a, and when forced down upon the paper folds the same 011 several lines. The paper or other hygienic material thus folded cannot slip, and the sheet is perfectly secured. A small bolt, 1', holds the rod 0 down. a

All of the sheets in the continuous band A are numbered, thereby affording ready means for controlling the use thereof. They are separated from one another by lines or rows of perforations s 8, (see Fig. 3,) which allow a sheet,

when used, to be easily detached. To insure the sheet being accurately placed with rela tion to the seat, a mark may be made on the paper in line with, say, a small nail fixed in the top board.

This box is keptclosed by a catch, j,

The key may, especially in private houses, be replaced by a button attached to the lockspring; or I may dispense with the box, and the roller may rest in two small supports. The sheet would in such case be held at the two ends by hinged strips or laths such as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 8; or, as is shown in Fig. 9, the roll is arranged at the rear of the top board or seat, and is provided with a ratchet and paw], and the sheet will be held in front by a small bar or rod, a", or any other suitable device.

I am aware that it has been proposed to mount a piece of carpet on a roller and ar range it tobe drawn out of the closet-seat and secure it temporarily in this position, the car pet having a hole in it to register with the seat-hole.

I am also aware that a sheet of paper with a ring-like series of perforations has been pro posed as a protective covering for a closet seat. In this construction the central portion is entirelydetached by sitting upon the seat. The essential features of my hygienic sheet consist, first, in extending the perforations in the seat only part way round, so as to leave a tie piece between the letters 00 m at the front of the seat, whereby the part B is suspended in the basin and forms a protecting-shield for the genital organs and, second, in constructing such sheets in. a series or roll, so that each may be drawn out and torn off successively after it has been used.

Having thus described my invention, I claimf 1. A hygienic and protective roll, A, of pa per or its specified equivalent, for water-closet seats, provided with a series of perforations extending around the parts B, except at the part between a: w, in combination with the closet-seat, a means, substantially as shown, for mounting the roll of paper axially, and a means, substantially as shown, for securing the end of the strip of paper A, whereby the sections of said roll may be successively drawn out, used, and torn off, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the closet seat and the ,roll A, provided with perforations, as described, of the box 0, provided with a cover, D, a catch, j, springs h and Z, and guillotine 7', all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED PEUVREZ, ARNAUD BITTER. 

